So I started my new training regimen about 4 weeks ago and at the beginning I was super excited to start up Olympic lifting after the very productive summer. The general motif of this program is that I would be predominately doing strength work. This means high volumes of heavy squatting and heavy Olympic lifts. The Olympic lifts took a backseat as improving those would not be the primary goal. The primary goal was to increase my squatting (front and back) numbers and general strength.
The program was absolutely brutal. Mondays would have me back squatting up to a 5 RM for a set then backing off to 90% of that for 4 sets of 5. Needless to say that's alot of work and my legs were destroyed for days afterwards. That would follow with a power snatch+snatch balance complex with tall snatches and snatch balances for warmups. I have a problem with getting down deep into the hole during the snatch. It's really a combination of lacking good mobility, having sub-optimal foot positioning (I tend to have a wide squat stance in the bottom position of the snatch) and just simply lacking confidence to get down deep. So doing those every workout for warmups would hopefully work on these issues. I bench press and clean heavy from the blocks on the 2nd day, front squat for a 3RM and clean heavy on the 3rd day, snatch heavy on the 4th day and max out both my lifts on the 5th. The general feeling throughout this mini-cycle was that by the time I got to day 3 I was completely wrecked. I was foam rolling and stretching to alleviate soreness and tightness but the relief was minimal. Of course the fatigue had a pronounced effect on my Olympic lifts.
In the entire 4 weeks I have been unable to hit any snatch above 90% of my previous 1RM of 215#. I haven't even come close to hitting that previous PR. The clean faired a little better but not my much and I still couldn't match my previous best of 265#. Bledsoe assured me that this kind of drop in performance was expected because I was focusing on strength and NOT on improving my Oly numbers. Even with this reassurance it was still extremely frustrating. I wasn't making lifts consistently. Sometimes I'd miss weights far below my max just because I was simply so worn out. Even my backsquat started to suffer. During the summer I was doing 320# for a 5RM. Nope not now. I've been able to do 315# for 5 at best with no improvement. The best I've been able to do is 325 for 3. Training has been bad to say the least. Actually it's probably been the worst training cycle I've ever done.
But everyone has slumps sometimes. Even super-strong people like Chris Moore. We just have to keep focused on the long-term goals, learn from the failures and move onward.
There have been some positives however. My front squat has rocketed which technically means I'll be able to clean more weight if I can pull and catch the barbell. The front squat is up from 275x3 to 290x3 and looking to do 295x3 by this Thursday.The goal by the end of the year is to have a 315x3 front squat which would be boss. I've also experimented and improved my snatch technique greatly. I've been playing around with a narrower grip which is helping relieve some tension off my delicate and still aching wrists. I've also been really focusing on driving my down under the barbell for a more aggressive 3rd pull. I've been doing lighter weights but my speed and aggressiveness has substantially improved as I can now snatch 185# and drive fully to the bottom whereas anything above 160 I would have to power snatch or I'd probably miss the lift.
I've decided for the next cycle that I will no longer be power snatching in training. If I cannot make the lift without power snatching then I will not be lifting at that weight and go down to a weight were I can. In Olympic lifting, technique is the most important, then speed, then load is finally last. It's been obvious for a while now that I need to work on my 3rd pull technique and speed under the bar with the snatch. So that is what I will be focusing on for the next cycle. Hopefully I should improve both and be able to build the mobility, speed and confidence required to receive heavy snatches (and cleans) at the bottom position.
I'm also going to hold off on competing for a while in order to work on these issues. There is a meet at the end of the month at the U of M being put on by Faction but I have decided not to lift. 1) Because my lifts suck right now and 2) because I want to focus on training and getting better. I don't know who said this but I've seen this quote a few places and it couldn't be more appropriate right now.
"A winner practices until he gets it right. A champion practices until he can’t get it wrong."
It's time to start training like a champion.
I'll end with some long-term goals I'd like to accomplish because it's good to set goals.
Snatch: 100 kg by the end of the year and 105kg by nationals.
Clean: 125 kg by the end of the year and 130kg by nationals.
Ok folks. Until next time!
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Thursday, September 13, 2012
How to Warm Up for a Big Lift
The new strength gains are still paying off! On Monday after a generous three day break from last week's deload and a fun-filled weekend I decided to attempt some 1RM's on my snatch and clean and jerk. I ended up with a 215# snatch PR (10# up), 255# clean and jerk PR (5# up), and a 265# clean only. Movin' on up!
I decided to experiment with fewer warmup attempts. In the past, I would generally take about 20-25 warmup attempts in the snatch before attempting a heavy weight. I've always thought this was a little excessive but it did seem to work at the time. However, recently in the Texas Method, I generally would take only 10 warmup attempts in the style of 5, 3, 2 before attempting a heavy set. I saw a great deal of benefit with this warmup format for squatting heavy so I decided to try it out for Olympic lifting. It seemed like it paid off as I still felt warm with the fewer attempts and less tired so that I'd be better able to lift heavy. This brings me to discussing how to warm up for lifting heavy.
Basically, the key for a good warm up is to take only as many attempts as are necessary to be sufficiently physically and mentally warm. Well what's that mean? I will try to explain as simply as I can.
One purpose of the warmup is to get your blood flowing to the muscles and get your central nervous system primed for the heavy attempt. It is NOT to get you so fatigued that you actually perform worse. It does no good to do a whole bunch of warmup attempts or attempt a large number of heavy attempts and tire yourself out so that you've got nothing left for your big lifts. PR on the platform not in the warmup room.
The warmup also serves to physically remind your body of how you are supposed to perform the lift. It is NOT the time for you to be practicing the lifts or trying out new techniques, positions, grips, and etc. The time for that is during your daily practice sessions prior to the competition. When it comes time to compete or go for a 1RM, you've got to do what works or has been working for you. Don't change anything last minute as you will only screw yourself. Do what works now. Work on your issues after the competition.
Finally. the warm up serves to get your mind mentally prepared to lift big weight. "GET CHA MIND RIGHT!" as some rappers say. People often overlook the fact that weightlifting is just as much mental as it is physical. Confidence on the platform is crucial. As you attempt heavier and heavier weights during your warmups your confidence should become higher and higher with each successful lift. Carry this confidence onto the platform KNOWING that you are going to make your first attempt.
All that being said, while you don't want to make too many attempts you don't want to take too few either. Also if you are making all your warm up attempts, it may not be necessary to do a whole lot more. If you are missing your warmup attempts, you might want to take some extra attempts just to boost your confidence but be careful not to overdue it and tire yourself out. Simple enough right?
Here's a warm-up I did this past April at Nationals to serve as an example to help illustrate my points:
Snatch:
First some dislocates, snatch grip presses, overhead squats, and drop snatches with a PVC pipe (just as few reps as needed)
40x5, 50x4, 55x3 60x3, 65x3, 70x2, 75x2, 80x1, 82x1
open at 85 kg
Clean and Jerk:
First some split jerks and presses with the PVC
70x3, 80x3, 90x2, 95x1, 100x1, 102x1
open at 105 kg
Notice that for the snatch I took 24 attempts at progressively increasing weights before I made my opening attempt. As the weight increases, the number of attempts decreased in order to save energy. 24 attempts is quite a large number now that I think about it but at the time I was coming off an injury where I had not snatched heavily in quite some time and was not very comfortable in the overhead position so it took a large number of attempts to get my mind and body ready. If I were 100% and had been practicing the entire time the months prior, I think I would have been fine with 3/4 or maybe even half the number of attempts as I didn't miss any during the warmup.
Now for the clean and jerk I only took 11 attempts . In an Oly competition you do the clean and jerk after the snatch so presumably you are already pretty warmed up. At this point you just need to transition your mind and body into performing the clean and jerk instead of performing the snatch.
That warm-up example was just that...an example. Will it be optimal for you? That's up to you to figure out. Like I said before, in the end, you just have to do what works for you. Whatever you decide to do always keep in mind what the goal is. You get no points for an awesome warmup. The warmup is a only the tool to get you were you want to be. Use it wisely and focus on mentally and physically preparing yourself to perform well when it counts!
I decided to experiment with fewer warmup attempts. In the past, I would generally take about 20-25 warmup attempts in the snatch before attempting a heavy weight. I've always thought this was a little excessive but it did seem to work at the time. However, recently in the Texas Method, I generally would take only 10 warmup attempts in the style of 5, 3, 2 before attempting a heavy set. I saw a great deal of benefit with this warmup format for squatting heavy so I decided to try it out for Olympic lifting. It seemed like it paid off as I still felt warm with the fewer attempts and less tired so that I'd be better able to lift heavy. This brings me to discussing how to warm up for lifting heavy.
Basically, the key for a good warm up is to take only as many attempts as are necessary to be sufficiently physically and mentally warm. Well what's that mean? I will try to explain as simply as I can.
One purpose of the warmup is to get your blood flowing to the muscles and get your central nervous system primed for the heavy attempt. It is NOT to get you so fatigued that you actually perform worse. It does no good to do a whole bunch of warmup attempts or attempt a large number of heavy attempts and tire yourself out so that you've got nothing left for your big lifts. PR on the platform not in the warmup room.
The warmup also serves to physically remind your body of how you are supposed to perform the lift. It is NOT the time for you to be practicing the lifts or trying out new techniques, positions, grips, and etc. The time for that is during your daily practice sessions prior to the competition. When it comes time to compete or go for a 1RM, you've got to do what works or has been working for you. Don't change anything last minute as you will only screw yourself. Do what works now. Work on your issues after the competition.
Finally. the warm up serves to get your mind mentally prepared to lift big weight. "GET CHA MIND RIGHT!" as some rappers say. People often overlook the fact that weightlifting is just as much mental as it is physical. Confidence on the platform is crucial. As you attempt heavier and heavier weights during your warmups your confidence should become higher and higher with each successful lift. Carry this confidence onto the platform KNOWING that you are going to make your first attempt.
All that being said, while you don't want to make too many attempts you don't want to take too few either. Also if you are making all your warm up attempts, it may not be necessary to do a whole lot more. If you are missing your warmup attempts, you might want to take some extra attempts just to boost your confidence but be careful not to overdue it and tire yourself out. Simple enough right?
Here's a warm-up I did this past April at Nationals to serve as an example to help illustrate my points:
Snatch:
First some dislocates, snatch grip presses, overhead squats, and drop snatches with a PVC pipe (just as few reps as needed)
40x5, 50x4, 55x3 60x3, 65x3, 70x2, 75x2, 80x1, 82x1
open at 85 kg
Clean and Jerk:
First some split jerks and presses with the PVC
70x3, 80x3, 90x2, 95x1, 100x1, 102x1
open at 105 kg
Notice that for the snatch I took 24 attempts at progressively increasing weights before I made my opening attempt. As the weight increases, the number of attempts decreased in order to save energy. 24 attempts is quite a large number now that I think about it but at the time I was coming off an injury where I had not snatched heavily in quite some time and was not very comfortable in the overhead position so it took a large number of attempts to get my mind and body ready. If I were 100% and had been practicing the entire time the months prior, I think I would have been fine with 3/4 or maybe even half the number of attempts as I didn't miss any during the warmup.
Now for the clean and jerk I only took 11 attempts . In an Oly competition you do the clean and jerk after the snatch so presumably you are already pretty warmed up. At this point you just need to transition your mind and body into performing the clean and jerk instead of performing the snatch.
That warm-up example was just that...an example. Will it be optimal for you? That's up to you to figure out. Like I said before, in the end, you just have to do what works for you. Whatever you decide to do always keep in mind what the goal is. You get no points for an awesome warmup. The warmup is a only the tool to get you were you want to be. Use it wisely and focus on mentally and physically preparing yourself to perform well when it counts!
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Summer of Strength:Epilogue and Why YOU Should Strength Train
Last Friday, with the last workout of the Texas Method strength program, my summer strength training drew to a close. I've summarized the results relative to my numbers at the beginning of the summer.
As you can clearly see, huge strength gains were made this summer. The strength gains have already paid off and improved my Olympic lifting even without specifically training for them. For example, recently I easily power cleaned 5 lbs over my previous best of 250 lbs and yesterday I was able to jerk 275 lbs (a PR of 25 lbs). This puts me in a much better position for training and competing well this upcoming year. I'm totally pumped!
_____________________________________________________________________________
And now I would like to turn my attention to topic I feel is pretty important.
So should you (yes I'm talking to you) strength train? The simple answer is YES. Strength training doesn't just benefit athletes, Cross-Fitters and weightlifters. Strength training benefits everyone of all ages. As Mark Ripptoe has once said,
"Strong people are harder to kill than weak people, and more useful in general."
So here are a few reasons that I hope will convince you to start strength training.
P.S. You might have heard these before...
1.If not for any other reason other than to LOOK BETTER NAKED!
Guys: Do you want to have that athletic, strong physique like Michelangelo himself carved you out of marble? I see squats, presses and deadlifts in your immediate future. If you don't want to look like that or even close to that then I just don't have anything to say to you.
Ladies: If you aspire that "toned" look with a tight mid-section, a firm behind, and those Michelle Obama arms? Gotta strength train. Long bouts on the elliptical isn't going to do this for you. Go lift some weights and build some muscle. Don't listen to Gwyneth and her quack personal trainer. Believe me...you won't get bulky and start looking like a man if you start lifting more than 2lbs (a typical package of ground beef) above your head.
2. Better health.
Strength training when combined with a healthy, sensible diet can improve your overall health dramatically by cutting body fat and adding lean body mass (muscle). High cholesterol, high blood pressure, heart disease, and diabetes are all a associated with being obese or overweight. Kill the diseases before they kill you. Start lifting. Also strength training just helps you feel better in general by reducing stress, improving mood and sleep.
3. Less injuries.
Bad hips? Bad knees? Pulled a muscle? Weak bones? Maybe you have some underlying issues. Probably though, you just aren't strong enough. Fact: People who are strong are hardier individuals. Stronger muscles are less susceptible to injury. Loading bones increases their density making them stronger and less likely to become brittle (middle-aged women take note!).
4. It could save your life one day.
Being stronger becomes even more important as you get older. How many times have you seen those Life Alert commercials?
I'd be willing to bet you that this elderly individual would not need Life Alert if they were half as strong as they should be. Stronger arms, hips, core and legs would allow this person to pick herself off the floor or perhaps not even be in this situation in the first place with better posture and balance. Being strong can save your life!
So that concludes my time on the soapbox...
But seriously, get to your nearest gym whether it be a CrossFit gym, a 24 Hour Fitness or just your own garage, backyard or living room and start strength training. Even if it's really light at first that's OK. Everyone has to start somewhere. You just have to START and the rest will follow.
| May 2012 | Sept 2012 | Diff (lbs) | % Diff | |
| Squat (5RM) | 265 | 320 | +55 | 21 |
| Bench (1RM) | 235 | 270 | +35 | 15 |
| Press (1RM) | 170 | 190 | +20 | 12 |
As you can clearly see, huge strength gains were made this summer. The strength gains have already paid off and improved my Olympic lifting even without specifically training for them. For example, recently I easily power cleaned 5 lbs over my previous best of 250 lbs and yesterday I was able to jerk 275 lbs (a PR of 25 lbs). This puts me in a much better position for training and competing well this upcoming year. I'm totally pumped!
_____________________________________________________________________________
And now I would like to turn my attention to topic I feel is pretty important.
So should you (yes I'm talking to you) strength train? The simple answer is YES. Strength training doesn't just benefit athletes, Cross-Fitters and weightlifters. Strength training benefits everyone of all ages. As Mark Ripptoe has once said,
"Strong people are harder to kill than weak people, and more useful in general."
So here are a few reasons that I hope will convince you to start strength training.
P.S. You might have heard these before...
My Top Reasons to Strength Train
1.If not for any other reason other than to LOOK BETTER NAKED!
Guys: Do you want to have that athletic, strong physique like Michelangelo himself carved you out of marble? I see squats, presses and deadlifts in your immediate future. If you don't want to look like that or even close to that then I just don't have anything to say to you.
Ladies: If you aspire that "toned" look with a tight mid-section, a firm behind, and those Michelle Obama arms? Gotta strength train. Long bouts on the elliptical isn't going to do this for you. Go lift some weights and build some muscle. Don't listen to Gwyneth and her quack personal trainer. Believe me...you won't get bulky and start looking like a man if you start lifting more than 2lbs (a typical package of ground beef) above your head.
 |
| Julia Rohde (GER) snatching 85kg (187.4 lbs) while weighing only 52 kg (115 lbs). She looks so manly and bulky doesn't she :) |
2. Better health.
Strength training when combined with a healthy, sensible diet can improve your overall health dramatically by cutting body fat and adding lean body mass (muscle). High cholesterol, high blood pressure, heart disease, and diabetes are all a associated with being obese or overweight. Kill the diseases before they kill you. Start lifting. Also strength training just helps you feel better in general by reducing stress, improving mood and sleep.
3. Less injuries.
Bad hips? Bad knees? Pulled a muscle? Weak bones? Maybe you have some underlying issues. Probably though, you just aren't strong enough. Fact: People who are strong are hardier individuals. Stronger muscles are less susceptible to injury. Loading bones increases their density making them stronger and less likely to become brittle (middle-aged women take note!).
4. It could save your life one day.
Being stronger becomes even more important as you get older. How many times have you seen those Life Alert commercials?
So that concludes my time on the soapbox...
But seriously, get to your nearest gym whether it be a CrossFit gym, a 24 Hour Fitness or just your own garage, backyard or living room and start strength training. Even if it's really light at first that's OK. Everyone has to start somewhere. You just have to START and the rest will follow.
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Thursday, August 23, 2012
To cut or not to cut?
I've presented myself with a bit of dilemma. I stepped on the scale the other day and was shocked that it read a whopping 190.4 lbs. Granted I had just eaten a meal but even the pound or pound and a half from the meal would still put me around 188 lbs (85.28kg).
The problem with this is: I normally compete at 169 lbs (77 kg). All the heavy squatting and heavy eating (and not the cleanest) has packed on the pounds this summer.
Now I have to decide whether I want to cut about 20 lbs to compete at 77 or stay where I'm at for the 85 class. But I'm just not sure what do to. I've scoured the various weightlifting forums for advice and I've gotten mixed feedback.
There are some proponents of the "get as big and as strong as possible" approach. If it means jumping up a weight class do it. In essence this does kind of make sense. Bigger guys have a better advantage in weightlifting than smaller guys. Even in the same class, lifters try to be the heaviest in their class because theoretically you are stronger. That's really not always the case, especially with non-elite level lifters like myself. For instance, you can gain a whole bunch of weight and the majority of that weight be body fat (which does nothing useful) and not muscle. Now granted if you are lifting heavy like you are supposed to, a gain of weight is generally accompanied by a gain in muscle mass (hypertrophy) and that's a good thing. Also bigger weightlifters also have an advantage in that they have to lift typically less weight in relation to their bodyweight in order to win competitions or even qualify. For example, I've plotted the qualifying totals in relation to bodyweight to show that being heavier helps.
As you can see the bigger guys in the heavier weight classes (85 and up) have to lift less weight relative to their bodyweight for everyone except the lighter guys (56 and 62 kg). Hell, the super-heavies (230lbs+ / 105+) lift proportionally less than a guy weighing 137 lbs. Yes the heavier you are the more absolute weight you are going to have to lift but it will be technically easier for you to do so because you are bigger.
Also notice that if you compete in the 77 kg class like me you've got to lift more relative weight than EVERYONE else making that class technically the most challenging in which to compete. Boo :(
So what should we do? Do we cut or not cut. Do we try to gain weight? Donny Shankle has said that you should always be trying to improve the total no matter what. I agree with this. For example, if you are a 77 kg lifter and total 300 and then at 85 only total 285 then obviously you should not be moving to 85 because the weight gain has not improved your lifts. If you can stay at 77 and continue to increase your total, stay at 77. You will move up the chain and be more competitive in your weight class. If you've been lifting at 77 for a while and nothing seems to be substantially improving your numbers despite your training, then maybe gaining some muscle and strength will be just what you need to start hitting PR's again.
Now I'm not an expert on this subject by any means, but I do know what has worked for me. In my experience, cutting and being lighter sucks. I'm not as strong because with cutting weight you are going to lose some muscle and with that, strength. It's pretty much biologically impossible not to. I also feel pretty fatigued because typically I'm eating less and not having as much energy to burn. My recovery time increases and I start getting inured. Cutting 20 lbs would take several months and just doesn't sound like something I want to do. I don't really see any advantages at the moment of being lighter.
That said, I think I going to try my hand at the 85 weight class. I'm about to start a new cycle where I am going to focus on continuing to get as strong as possible by lifting heavy and frequently. I can clean up my diet a bit and drop some body fat but I am going to try to maintain my weight around 185-187 lbs. Hopefully this will be beneficial and I will be able to improve my total. And if it doesn't then obviously I know what I'm going to have to do.
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
A Random PR
Yesterday marked the beginning of the 6th week of my Texas Method strength cycle and typically Monday's are pretty tough workouts.
I started off squatting 280# for 5x5. The squats were not very challenging although as I am writing this today I am pretty sore from them. It's crazy how adaptation works. A few months ago when I was attempting this weight for a 5 set for the first time you'd think I was dying by how much I was grunting, screaming and gasping for air as I did this weight. Now it's pretty much a breeze. Through adaptation you get stronger and the only way to adapt is to frequently subject your body to increasing amounts stress. Take away lesson: lift heavy and lift frequently.
Overhead presses were also performed at 147 for 5x5. These were pretty relaxed and I probably took more time in between sets than I should have because I was helping coach some snatching in a group class.
Clean pulls were at 250# for 1x5. One one of the clean pulls I pulled pretty hard and ended up "accidentally" pulling under and power cleaning it for a matched PR.
Shocked at how easy it felt I decided to go for 255# for a PR. I ended up cleaning 255# and fighting hard to stand up but eventually I was successful. Too bad I didn't catch it on video. I wasn't even warming up for a max effort lift or had it programmed and I PR'd. Mind = blown.
Clearly the strength cycle has done its purpose. I'm eagerly anticipating weightlifting training and seeing my full potential.
Some tips for the 2nd pull
So yesterday while I was lifting there was a CrossFit class behind me and they were practicing snatches so I decided to lend what expertise I have to help correct and coach their technique.
While coaching, I noticed one recurring theme with beginners trying to learn both the snatch and the clean. Beginners often have trouble with the 2nd pull, that is actively and explosively pulling the bar up and into the hips by using the upper back muscles, specifically the Latissimus dorsi muscles. Pulling the bar up along the thighs and into the hips serves two main purposes:
1) It keeps the bar close to your body. The barbell's goal in life is to pull your body down and forward. You must actively work to pull the bar up and in. Your body is acting as a giant lever. Every inch that the barbell moves away from the body's center of gravity makes the barbell much heavier. Simple physics. So once the barbell clears the knees you MUST start using your lats and pull that bar upwards and inwards.
Keeping the bar close to you also saves your pelvic bone from getting beaten up. That BANG you hear from the barbell and the pain on your pelvis is from that bar being too far away from your body and you compensating by bringing your hips to the bar. It should be the other way around. Bring the bar to your hips and you will only feel a brush.
2) It allows for a more explosive 2nd pull and the correct bar path. The 2nd pull is meant to be explosive and fast. It is perhaps one of the most violent and aggressive movements in any sport. Therefore you have to use the larger and stronger muscles (read: not your arms) to properly execute it. Please understand that just because you are "pulling" doesn't mean you are pulling with your arms. In the 2nd pull you are using your hips and posterior chain muscles (hams, back, and glutes)! Sweeping that bar inward and upward will force your hips to come underneath the bar. This is what weightlifting coaches call the "double knee bend". It is essentially your body coming into a jumping position where you can violently explode (jump) upwards by explosively extending the hips and knees. This is where ALL the power comes from. If you don't actively sweep that bar in most likely you will not double knee bend and will pull early. You will have lost power and the bar will be out in front of you. Loss of power + incorrect bar path = failed attempt. And don't think about the double knee bend. It will only mess you up. Think about sweeping that bar into you. The double knee bend is a natural movement and you will do it automatically but ONLY IF you are actively sweeping that bar in.
This video illustrates clearly what I'm talking about
Notice how all of the lifters keep the barbell right on the thighs during the way up and actively sweep the bar inwards towards the hips. This makes for a very powerful pull which allows them to lift several times their bodyweight overhead.
Gregg Everett of Catalyst Athletics also demonstrates and explains the double knee bend. A bit technical but you can clearly see that his demonstrator keeps the bar right on the thighs and actively pulls the bar into the body causing the hips to come underneath the bar due to the rebending of the knee.
Some take away tips to improve your 2nd pull:
1) Get a nice tight locked back from the get-go. Set and start flexing your lats before you lift the weight off the ground.
2) Keep the bar close to the body by sweeping the bar upward and inward along the thighs and towards the hips.
2) Explode upwards by jumping as hard and as fast as you can.
Happy lifting!
While coaching, I noticed one recurring theme with beginners trying to learn both the snatch and the clean. Beginners often have trouble with the 2nd pull, that is actively and explosively pulling the bar up and into the hips by using the upper back muscles, specifically the Latissimus dorsi muscles. Pulling the bar up along the thighs and into the hips serves two main purposes:
1) It keeps the bar close to your body. The barbell's goal in life is to pull your body down and forward. You must actively work to pull the bar up and in. Your body is acting as a giant lever. Every inch that the barbell moves away from the body's center of gravity makes the barbell much heavier. Simple physics. So once the barbell clears the knees you MUST start using your lats and pull that bar upwards and inwards.
Keeping the bar close to you also saves your pelvic bone from getting beaten up. That BANG you hear from the barbell and the pain on your pelvis is from that bar being too far away from your body and you compensating by bringing your hips to the bar. It should be the other way around. Bring the bar to your hips and you will only feel a brush.
2) It allows for a more explosive 2nd pull and the correct bar path. The 2nd pull is meant to be explosive and fast. It is perhaps one of the most violent and aggressive movements in any sport. Therefore you have to use the larger and stronger muscles (read: not your arms) to properly execute it. Please understand that just because you are "pulling" doesn't mean you are pulling with your arms. In the 2nd pull you are using your hips and posterior chain muscles (hams, back, and glutes)! Sweeping that bar inward and upward will force your hips to come underneath the bar. This is what weightlifting coaches call the "double knee bend". It is essentially your body coming into a jumping position where you can violently explode (jump) upwards by explosively extending the hips and knees. This is where ALL the power comes from. If you don't actively sweep that bar in most likely you will not double knee bend and will pull early. You will have lost power and the bar will be out in front of you. Loss of power + incorrect bar path = failed attempt. And don't think about the double knee bend. It will only mess you up. Think about sweeping that bar into you. The double knee bend is a natural movement and you will do it automatically but ONLY IF you are actively sweeping that bar in.
This video illustrates clearly what I'm talking about
Notice how all of the lifters keep the barbell right on the thighs during the way up and actively sweep the bar inwards towards the hips. This makes for a very powerful pull which allows them to lift several times their bodyweight overhead.
Gregg Everett of Catalyst Athletics also demonstrates and explains the double knee bend. A bit technical but you can clearly see that his demonstrator keeps the bar right on the thighs and actively pulls the bar into the body causing the hips to come underneath the bar due to the rebending of the knee.
Some take away tips to improve your 2nd pull:
1) Get a nice tight locked back from the get-go. Set and start flexing your lats before you lift the weight off the ground.
2) Keep the bar close to the body by sweeping the bar upward and inward along the thighs and towards the hips.
2) Explode upwards by jumping as hard and as fast as you can.
Happy lifting!
Friday, August 10, 2012
Fitocracy
I probably will not be posting workout logs on this blog anymore as I found a great site called Fitocracy to post my training logs. The site is great. It gives you points for doing exercise as well as tracks all of your workouts. It allows me to visualize my progress as well as "level up" like in some kind of video game. I used to be a hardcore online gamer and that aspect was immense appeal lol. Actually the site was developed by a bunch of hardcore gamers that got sick of being fat and decided to get fit. The site's motto is Level Up in Real Life. LOL. Anyways my logs are on the site under my profile name Macattack08.
Summer of Squats
Ever since I started seriously training in weightlifting I've always known that my strength (or lack of it) has been my biggest weakness and hinderance to my progression as a lifter. It became even more apparent after reviewing my performance at nationals. My technique is pretty good for a person that's only been lifting a year and half. I still have some issues with the 3rd pull but 1st and 2nd pulls are excellent. The fact that I can power clean and power snatch more than I can full clean/snatch (dropping below parallel or to the bottom of a squat) shows that my pulling power and explosiveness is also very soild. Unfortunately, whenever I do try catch the barbell at the bottom of the squat, I struggle to stand up or don't stand up at all. I simply just had poor strength.
I decided that I wasn't going to practice any of the lifts and focus on getting strong as hell. No amount of technique work or power development was going to help me progress further until I could comfortably squat large amounts of weight.
So my plan this summer was to squat and squat often. I began with a Starting Strength (SS) type strength program. I had sucess with this type of linear periodization programming in the past and felt that more would be very beneficial.
The program is designed for strength gains by emphasizing a high amount of time under load with gradually increasing loads workout to workout. Basically you squat 3 times a week for 3 sets of 5 reps. The weight increases the next workout every time you sucessfully complete the number of reps for the day. The weight increases gradually dimenish in increment (i.e. 5lbs to 2.5 lbs to 1 lb) because eventually you will start to reach your plateau. Once you plateau you can reset back to a lighter weight and start over hopefully breaking your previous stall. This cycle can be repeated a number of times until you are no longer breaking through your stalls even. With the SS program, I managed to take my backsquat 5RM from 265# to 295# and my 1RM from 295# to 325#. My bench press and overhead press all increased substantially. From 225# to 255# and 160# to 190# respectively. Granted with all the squatting I did manage to gain about 10 lbs but I still managed to make solid strength gains relative to weight gain.
I began repeatively stalling on SS and I moved to a more intermediate strength program in July called the Texas Method. While similar to SS, instead of making daily progression you make weekly progression because the loads have become too difficult for your body to fully recover. Gains are smaller and made slower but this is the natural progression of strength building. Mondays are a high volume, moderate load day where you squat 5x5 at about 80-85% of your 1RM. Wednesdays are a light load, light intensity day with 2x5 squats at about 80% of your 5RM. Fridays are a high intensity, low volume day where you try to set a new 5RM. The cycle continues weekly by typically adding 5# to each day.
I'll be doing Texas till the end of August where I will then switch over to a new weightlifting cycle. I'm really hoping that my strength gains will lead to big increases in my lifts.
I decided that I wasn't going to practice any of the lifts and focus on getting strong as hell. No amount of technique work or power development was going to help me progress further until I could comfortably squat large amounts of weight.
So my plan this summer was to squat and squat often. I began with a Starting Strength (SS) type strength program. I had sucess with this type of linear periodization programming in the past and felt that more would be very beneficial.
The program is designed for strength gains by emphasizing a high amount of time under load with gradually increasing loads workout to workout. Basically you squat 3 times a week for 3 sets of 5 reps. The weight increases the next workout every time you sucessfully complete the number of reps for the day. The weight increases gradually dimenish in increment (i.e. 5lbs to 2.5 lbs to 1 lb) because eventually you will start to reach your plateau. Once you plateau you can reset back to a lighter weight and start over hopefully breaking your previous stall. This cycle can be repeated a number of times until you are no longer breaking through your stalls even. With the SS program, I managed to take my backsquat 5RM from 265# to 295# and my 1RM from 295# to 325#. My bench press and overhead press all increased substantially. From 225# to 255# and 160# to 190# respectively. Granted with all the squatting I did manage to gain about 10 lbs but I still managed to make solid strength gains relative to weight gain.
I began repeatively stalling on SS and I moved to a more intermediate strength program in July called the Texas Method. While similar to SS, instead of making daily progression you make weekly progression because the loads have become too difficult for your body to fully recover. Gains are smaller and made slower but this is the natural progression of strength building. Mondays are a high volume, moderate load day where you squat 5x5 at about 80-85% of your 1RM. Wednesdays are a light load, light intensity day with 2x5 squats at about 80% of your 5RM. Fridays are a high intensity, low volume day where you try to set a new 5RM. The cycle continues weekly by typically adding 5# to each day.
I'll be doing Texas till the end of August where I will then switch over to a new weightlifting cycle. I'm really hoping that my strength gains will lead to big increases in my lifts.
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Alex Became a Weightlifter: Updates and such
First off let me just say this: I really suck at blogging. Obviously. I've never been great at keeping a journal. Hell I can't even keep my own lab journal up to date. Just last week I was filling in experiments in my lab notebook that I did over 4 months ago and I really hope my professor doesn't ever find this blog.
Well my friend and training buddy at Faction started a blog recently about his weightlifting training and his quest to go to Nationals and I guess it kind of sparked my interest to return to blogging. You can check out his blog here.
So I guess I should update my progress since my last post which was in November of 2011. This is gonna be a long post.
My First Meet!
Back in February I competed in my first weightlifting meet ever. My coach Mike Bledsoe, my teammates Andrew (85kg) and Mike Lexner (85kg 15 y), and I drove 8 hours to Johnson City, TN to participate in the 2012 Handle Barbell Open at ETSU. I was pretty nervous going into the competition as I was worried I wasn't going to make weight. I was competing in the 77kg (169 lb) class and had to drop all the way from about 182 lbs. After strict dieting (starving myself) and dehydrating for a a few hours I made weight and was able to compete. My first snatch at 85kg got turned down for reasons I didn't understand at the time. Later I realized that I didn't remain stationary and controlled at the end of the lift (rookie mistake). I didn't let it phase me and ended up hitting it again for the 2nd attempt and nailing 89kg on the 3rd attempt. I only needed a total of 195 so I decided to open at 106 on the clean and jerk and nailed it with an easy power clean and jerk. Bledsoe decided that I should go for a PR of 111 but I failed with my two remaining attempts. Either way I qualified and I managed to get a 1st place finish (out of 2 ppl LOL). Competing was a blast. I forgot what the adrenaline rush and thrill of comepetition felt like. I was definitely looking forward to more at that point.
My Lifts at the Handle Barbell Open
INJURY!
After the Handle Barbell Open, I got injured. Again. This time it was my left wrist. There was some pretty rank and painful inflammation that would not go away. It was so bad that I really could not snatch or lift anything overhead at all. Needless to say this was bad timing because I had 2 months till University Nationals . I stuck to mostly power cleans, pulling and squatting. I started snatching again after got some last minute anti-inflammatory meds from my doctor a week before Nationals.
Nationals!
I really wasn't feeling very confident going into Nationals. Just coming off injury I wasn't sure if I was going to lift well enough to even total. Bledsoe tried to reassure me that I would do well but in the back of my mind I just wanted to get a total. Weigh-ins were also stressful. The official scale was weighing people heavy but I managed to sneak in there 30 grams under the cuttoff at 76.97 kg. I regained my confidence during my warm-ups as my wrist was not bothering me at all. Adrenaline is amazing. I was lifting in the B session and there were quite a number of lifters but I was nearer to the end due to my higher openers. I completed all my snatch attempts of 87, 89, and 93 for 4 kg PR. The clean and jerks went similarly with good attempts at 105, 109 and 113 (4 kg PR). I ended up placing 13th out of 18 overall but I went 6/6 with PR's on my snatch, clean and total. Can't really ask much more than that. Mostly I was just happy that I set a goal, followed through and got to compete on a national level. It was an amazing experience.
So with my first competitions under my belt I can finally call myself a weightlifter. That's why I decided to change the name of this blog :)
Well my friend and training buddy at Faction started a blog recently about his weightlifting training and his quest to go to Nationals and I guess it kind of sparked my interest to return to blogging. You can check out his blog here.
So I guess I should update my progress since my last post which was in November of 2011. This is gonna be a long post.
My First Meet!
Back in February I competed in my first weightlifting meet ever. My coach Mike Bledsoe, my teammates Andrew (85kg) and Mike Lexner (85kg 15 y), and I drove 8 hours to Johnson City, TN to participate in the 2012 Handle Barbell Open at ETSU. I was pretty nervous going into the competition as I was worried I wasn't going to make weight. I was competing in the 77kg (169 lb) class and had to drop all the way from about 182 lbs. After strict dieting (starving myself) and dehydrating for a a few hours I made weight and was able to compete. My first snatch at 85kg got turned down for reasons I didn't understand at the time. Later I realized that I didn't remain stationary and controlled at the end of the lift (rookie mistake). I didn't let it phase me and ended up hitting it again for the 2nd attempt and nailing 89kg on the 3rd attempt. I only needed a total of 195 so I decided to open at 106 on the clean and jerk and nailed it with an easy power clean and jerk. Bledsoe decided that I should go for a PR of 111 but I failed with my two remaining attempts. Either way I qualified and I managed to get a 1st place finish (out of 2 ppl LOL). Competing was a blast. I forgot what the adrenaline rush and thrill of comepetition felt like. I was definitely looking forward to more at that point.
My Lifts at the Handle Barbell Open
INJURY!
After the Handle Barbell Open, I got injured. Again. This time it was my left wrist. There was some pretty rank and painful inflammation that would not go away. It was so bad that I really could not snatch or lift anything overhead at all. Needless to say this was bad timing because I had 2 months till University Nationals . I stuck to mostly power cleans, pulling and squatting. I started snatching again after got some last minute anti-inflammatory meds from my doctor a week before Nationals.
Nationals!
I really wasn't feeling very confident going into Nationals. Just coming off injury I wasn't sure if I was going to lift well enough to even total. Bledsoe tried to reassure me that I would do well but in the back of my mind I just wanted to get a total. Weigh-ins were also stressful. The official scale was weighing people heavy but I managed to sneak in there 30 grams under the cuttoff at 76.97 kg. I regained my confidence during my warm-ups as my wrist was not bothering me at all. Adrenaline is amazing. I was lifting in the B session and there were quite a number of lifters but I was nearer to the end due to my higher openers. I completed all my snatch attempts of 87, 89, and 93 for 4 kg PR. The clean and jerks went similarly with good attempts at 105, 109 and 113 (4 kg PR). I ended up placing 13th out of 18 overall but I went 6/6 with PR's on my snatch, clean and total. Can't really ask much more than that. Mostly I was just happy that I set a goal, followed through and got to compete on a national level. It was an amazing experience.
So with my first competitions under my belt I can finally call myself a weightlifter. That's why I decided to change the name of this blog :)
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